As the Portland City Council and Multnomah County Commission prepare to sign off on a tax-sharing agreement that paves the way for a headquarters hotel at the Oregon Convention Center, Metro is answering critics of subsidizing a Hyatt Regency with public dollars.

Metro, the regional government leading efforts to establish the 600-room hotel, blasted the Oregon Restaurant and Lodging Association after hotel foes released a letter from an ORLA executive that said proponents are being dishonest in how they present the deal to the public.

Metro Council President Tom Hughes answered with a letter of his own, blasting ORLA for rejecting the agency’s multiple efforts to reach out to the 3,000-member group.

Hughes' Sept. 18 letter to ORLA President Steve McCoid was in response to a letter McCoid’s subordinate, Bill Perry, wrote earlier this week to Portland Mayor Charlie Hales and acting Multnomah County Chair Marissa Madrigal.

Perry’s letter notably was not addressed to Hughes.

In a letter to Perry’s boss, Hughes said he was “stunned” by ORLA’s public posture.

“We have approached ORLA on numerous occasions to provide information and answer any questions your organization may have about the project. In every instance, ORLA has declined our offers and ORLA has never communicated to Metro its concerns about the project, including at recent public hearings. It is not surprising, then, that your letter demonstrates a lack of understanding about the project and the convention business in general,” Hughes said.

Perry’s initial letter was released to the media by the Coalition for Fair Budget Priorities, a private group that claims to include 250 hotel operators and Portland-area business leaders.

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